Understanding sex/gender differences in intelligence profiles of children with Autism: A comprehensive WISC meta-analysis.
Boys and girls with autism earn statistically identical WISC IQ scores; any small gap mirrors what we see in typical peers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Giofrè et al. (2024) pooled every WISC study they could find on kids with autism. They wanted to see if boys and girls score differently on full-scale IQ or any WISC sub-test.
The meta-analysis covered school-age children. No new kids were tested; the team re-analyzed published data sets.
What they found
Overall IQ came out the same for both sexes. The only blip was a tiny male edge on perceptual reasoning, and even that gap matched the one seen in typical kids.
In plain words: an autistic girl and an autistic boy are just as likely to have the same IQ score.
How this fits with other research
English et al. (2020) saw the same "no difference" result in toddlers tested with the MSEL. Together, the two studies stretch the null finding from age two to age fourteen and across two different IQ tests.
Reichow (2012) and Rodgers et al. (2021) both report that early ABA programs lift IQ by a medium amount. David et al. add the nuance that those gains are not driven by one sex learning faster than the other.
Magiati et al. (2001) warned that picking the wrong test can swing a preschooler's IQ by 20 points. David et al. echo the caution: any sex pattern you think you see might be the test talking, not the child.
Why it matters
You can skip sex-specific norms when you interpret WISC results for kids with ASD. Focus your energy on choosing the right test battery and on planning interventions, not on adjusting for gender. If a girl's score looks lower, look at testability, language level, or sensory needs first—just as you would for a boy.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Drop sex-based score adjustments from your WISC report template and highlight individual strengths instead.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Intelligence assessment in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) often sparks debates about sex/gender differences. Specifically, the question arises whether girls exhibit lower performance on intelligence scales compared to boys. This meta-analysis examines nine studies (N=1105; 809 boys and 296 girls) to quantify sex/gender differences on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) in children with ASD, comparing their results to typically developing children. METHOD AND PROCEDURES: Random-effects meta-analyses on WISC indices and subtests were conducted to address the heterogeneity across effect sizes. Results for children with ASD were compared to those of typically developing children. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Findings revealed no significant differences in general intellectual functioning (full-scale IQ), verbal comprehension, working memory, or processing speed between boys and girls in children with ASD. Boys showed an advantage only in the perceptual reasoning index. At the subtest level, boys outperformed on certain tasks, while girls excelled in others. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The observed pattern of differences in the ASD population aligns quantitatively with those in typically developing populations. Differences, if present, are specific to certain indices rather than general intelligence. These insights contribute to a nuanced understanding of gender-related cognitive variations in the context of ASD.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2024 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2024.104854